A Lesson in Careers
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: Anzu was just planning on taking a breather in Domino. She wasn't planning on being a part of a chain convincing Honda to get his dream job.


**A/N:** Written for the YGO Fanfiction Contest Season 12, Round 2: Supportshipping (Anzu/Honda). And considering I have exams in two days, I'm amazed I got the entry in at all, let alone on time. Sorry for any spelling errors that snuck in!

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**A Lesson in Careers **

Anzu wasn't expecting much in her brief visit to Domino City. Nor did she want much: to see her friends will be great, she thinks, but on the whole she just needed some time off life.

'Well,' she yawned, fiddling with the dials of her watch, returning it to the local time. 'That's the plan anyway.'

Jet lag really didn't help her exhaustion, nor did flying all night. She would have slept – that was the sensible thing to do – but she simply could not sleep on an aeroplane. It was too high in the sky, too without restraints: her head was too filled with thoughts of dancing on the clouds to be able to even think of getting some sleep.

She giggled at her own thoughts. 'I'm just like a little kid,' she said to herself, feeling a little giddy. 'Must be the home air; it's been almost a year after all.'

She wondered if everyone else was as busy as her, and in just as much need of a break. The likelihood of them all being in Domino City at the same time was rather slim, but she wouldn't rule it out without a check. Their friendship had an uncanny way of doing the impossible after all.

She shook her head with another laugh. 'After some sleep,' she decided. 'No point saying hi to anyone and then falling into their porridge.'

**.**

Her parents had moved from Domino City some years back, so she caught a cab to a cheap hotel. She could have asked Yugi's grandfather, she knew – he would have been happy to let her stay, and for free too. But she didn't feel comfortable with the idea; she was an independent woman, and neither money or the lack of company were an issue for her.

After all, she'd taken a break from her dancing in America because the people had become too stifling and she couldn't get a moment to herself. It had been a job to manage it too: her manager had been reluctant to agree, and the press wouldn't get off her back. Luckily, the manager had yielded before she had a nervous breakdown, and she'd managed to sneak away from the press.

The hotel wasn't anything to smile about, nor frown about. It was a place to sleep, had a shower, and could hold her for a few weeks. That's all she really needed. That, and the nostalgic air of her hometown.

Lying on her bed, she could see the pale blue sky through the window. Yugi's definitely looking at that sky, she thought. Last she'd heard from him, he'd been in Peru, looking at some ruins. Jonouchi probably was as well, with whatever odd job he was doing for himself now. And Honda as well, looking out from his office in a small company.

Though, she had to admit, she hadn't seen Honda doing such a job. Somehow, doing menial paperwork for a company with little prospect didn't quite fit with her mental image of him. Then again, it could work.

She sighed, shaking her head. She'd just ask the next time she talked to him. And if he had Yugi's new number too; that kid lost his cell phone too often.

**.**

She was taking a walk, just for some extra fresh air and old time's sake…and maybe hoping to run into an equally nostalgic friend along the way. The Kame Game shop. The burger joint where they'd all hang out. The pier where they'd almost met their end because of Malik's control. All the other places where they'd shared adventures together. And, finally, outside the school where they'd first met: Jonouchi and Honda trying to act tough, and Yugi cowering from under confidence.

'Brings back memories, doesn't it?'

Anzu jumped a little, before scowling. 'You surprised me.'

'Sorry,' Honda replied, a little hollowly, before pushing the gates open and walking in.

Anzu stared, then hurried after him.

**.**

They wound up on the school roof, a place she hadn't frequented nearly as often as him in search for solace or answer. But it was as empty a place as she remembered, even if seeing the school without any students in it was rather odd.

'The place closed down, you know?' Honda said, leaning against the fence. 'It's just an abandoned building now. They'll knock it down soon.'

'I didn't,' Anzu replied. 'I'm glad I could come then. Is this still a good place to come up and think?'

'The best,' was Honda's answer. 'Reminds you of old times, doesn't it?'

It sure did. The only times she'd been up to the roof was with her friends.

'So…what brings you back in town?'

'My job,' Anzu sighed. 'I love being a dancer and all, but the schedule and attention were becoming a little overwhelming.' She tactfully avoided the other's face, settling for staring at his once well defined shoulder muscles instead. 'You've lost a little muscle tone.'

Honda shrugged his shoulders. 'That happens when you're on a desk job…but that won't be a problem any more.'

'You quit?' Anzu asked, blinking in surprise. While a desk job wasn't where she imagined him, quitting a job was even stranger. Though the sort of strange that earned a pat on the back.

'No. The company's just going downhill is all.' He slid to the ground. 'Anzu, how do you feel about your job?'

'Being a dancer?' She took a seat next to him. 'A little tired now, but happy. Why?'

'You'd go back to it again?'

'Sure.' She smiled. 'I'm just taking a breather; you can't do what you love all the time after all. It becomes a little overwhelming.'

'And Yugi and Jonouchi are happy with what they're doing as well.'

'And you're not?' Anzu guessed.

'That obvious?' Honda closed his eyes, the sun shining off his pale skin.

'Yeah. But Honda…what _do_ you want to be?'

Anzu didn't know the answer to that, though she wanted to. Maybe it was something she simply had to see. After all, it hadn't occurred to her that Jonouchi would be happy spending the rest of his life doing little odd jobs, but he was.

Honda opened his eyes again. 'Promise me you won't laugh,' he said, a slight catch in his tone.

'I won't laugh,' Anzu said seriously. 'You can tell me.'

Honda stared at his knees. 'A janitor,' he admitted.

Anzu was on her own knees in an instant. 'That's nothing to be ashamed of,' she said fiercely. 'And you know it. Think about how important they are. And think about how proud you'd been when you were the class monitor?'

'That's "beautification" monitor.' But there was a slight twitch to Honda's lips as he said that.

'A janitor.' Anzu sat back down, feeling the fence press into her back. 'You know, that's so obvious, I don't know how I missed it.'

'My parents,' was Honda's reply, and at Anzu's surprised expression, he continued: 'You know how they want me to do something with my life. Become a businessman or something. And I've tried; I'm just a failure at it. And I don't enjoy it.' Anzu looked at him seriously, letting him talk. 'The company's going down, but I'm sort of happy. Because it means I can start over again, do what I want…but my parents won't like that. My dad will probably put me in some rich collage again.'

Anzu couldn't say she understood. Her parents had been incredibly supportive of her decision, in a way most Japanese parents would not have been. And Yugi couldn't say it either: he only had his grandfather, he was thrilled to see Yugi travelling the world and uncovering its secrets. And Jonouchi couldn't say it either; he'd never looked for his parents' approval: only his little sister's. But all of them, and Honda too, had something in common.

'You sound like you're prepared to switch tracks,' she said with a bit of a smile. 'Been sneaking in study sessions at night or something?'

'Something like that.' Honda went a little pink at his transparency. 'Yugi recommended an online course he'd heard from…somewhere. I forgot where.' Not a big surprise, considering Yugi must have been everywhere in the world at least twice. 'I was taking a quick course on how to set up a small business. Not what my father had in mind…'

'…but what he doesn't know at the time won't hurt him.' Anzu was grinning now. 'Nice one, Honda.'

'But that's not enough…' He was staring at his knees again. 'I need to set up this business, get clients, keep them happy, and somehow make my parents happy too, and I'm about to lose my job…'

Now Anzu was getting exasperated with the rambling. 'You don't even like the job,' she snapped. 'Just quit. And explain to your parents you're not happy doing that; have you even told them upfront?'

Honda blinked, before shaking his head.

'And then just go and set up your business. Stop second-guessing it.' She shook her head. 'Geeze, you never change. Acting like the tough guy but just trying to please everyone deep down.'

**.**

Honda laughed. 'And you don't change either,' he said, looking decidedly happier. 'You still come out of nowhere and put a wrench in my – oww.'

She whacked him on the head. 'Enough about that; let's grab a bite to eat.'

'Yo,' Jonouchi called out to her, and she stopped and waited for him to catch up. 'Honda said you're leaving today.'

'And you wait until now to say 'hi'?' Anzu asked, fake hurt in her tone. In truth, she knew he'd been busy with that latest odd job of his.

'I was working,' he said with a shrug. 'And speaking of working, you're a miracle worker.'

'Why?' she asked, surprised.

'Well…' He shrugged. 'I was just about to slug Honda a good one and yell at him some, but you saved me the trouble.'

Somehow, she didn't think Jonouchi's method would have worked quite as well. At least she was gentle…sort of.

'So…what did his parents say?' she asked.

'Quite a few things.' He showed his knuckles, which were slightly red. 'They got the point in the end though.'

'Honestly…' Anzu shook her head.

'Hey, it worked, didn't it? Beautification City's all set to go. Now why couldn't we have done this sooner? We wouldn't have had to watch him mope for so many years.'

That wasn't how Anzu had imagined her brief vacation going, but it all worked out, she supposed. Of the four of them, Honda was the most insecure, the one who felt he'd done the least for their friendship and couldn't always see all the little things he did to hold them together. She really didn't know how he could have acted rough and tough like Jonouchi; he could punch and kick when it came to defending a friend, but he couldn't be that cold and hard. He was just too soft deep down.

Maybe it had something to do with Jonouchi, she mused, waving the blond off and continuing her last minute shopping. They'd been friends even then after all; Anzu and Yugi had come in later.

Which reminded her; no-one had given her Yugi's new number.


End file.
